Splashdown: The Story of USS Yorktown and Apollo 8

Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968. Apollo 8 was the first human mission, in which the spacecraft left the Earth’s orbit. It was the first manned mission to orbit the moon.

There were three astronauts aboard Apollo 8: Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders. They were the first humans to see Earth as a whole planet, first to see Earthrise, and the first to see the far side of the moon.

Splashdown refers to the water landing of a spacecraft into the ocean or body of water. The Apollo 8 capsule parachuted into the ocean on December 28, 1968 at 10:51:42 a.m. EST. Apollo 8 landed in the Pacific Ocean. The crew and spacecraft were picked up at sea, by the USS Yorktown.

Aboard the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point is a replica Apollo 8 capsule where visitors can experience the mission.

Learn more about the Space Age in Chasing the Moon. The series premieres on July 8, 2019 on SCETV. “Chasing the Moon,” a film by Robert Stone, reimagines the race to the moon for a new generation, upending much of the conventional mythology surrounding the effort.